Method of making water-sealing pile barrier around an excavation cutoff area



Nov. 12, 1968 TURZILLO ET AL 3,410,095

METHOD OF MAKING WATER-SEALING PILE BARRIER AROUND AN EXCAVATION CUT-OFFAREA Filed April 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l II Qikki 1 INVENTOR. LEE A.TURZILLO 2:- NORMAN L.LIVER ATTORNEY NOV. 12, 1968 TURZILLO ET AL3,410,095

METHOD OF MAKING WATER-SEALING FILE BARRIER AROUND Filed April 5, 1965AN EXCAVATION CUT-OFF AREA 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LEE A. TURZILLO 2% BY NORMAN 1.. LIVER ATTORNEY United States Patent3,410,095 METHOD OF MAKING WATER-SEALING PILE BARRIER AROUND ANEXCAVATION CUT- OFF AREA Lee A. Turzillo, 2078 Glengary Road, Akron,Ohio 44313, and Norman L. Liver, 11720 Edgewater Drive, Cleveland, Ohio44107 Filed Apr. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 445,645 9 Claims. (CI. 61-35)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Concrete barrier made by forming series ofconcrete piles in earth situs to have earth columns contained by convexsurfaces of adjacent piles touching along vertical areas of linecontact. Flushing water pumped into cavities provided in earth columnsremoves retained earth from bights between contacting piles. Flushedcavities filled with self-hardening fluid hydraulic cement, whichhardens in fluid-sealing contact with resultantly bared convex surfacesof piles, including areas within the bights between the same.

This invention relates to forming concrete piles in the earth and, inparticular, relates to an improved method for constructing awater-sealing barrier or retaining wall around an excavation site, forexample.

Heretofore, concrete piles have been contiguously formed in an area ofan earth situs as a barrier or bulkhead for retaining earth, buildingwalls, or other structures, against collapse into an excavation madewithin the confines of the retaining barrier. Such contiguous pilebarriers, however, were generally insufficient to prevent flow ofsurface or sub-surface water, and soil, through interstices betweenadjacent piles and into the excavation area.

One known method of providing a fluid seal between the piles involvedangering a hole contiguous to a previously formed and hardened pile;coating the portion of the hardened pile exposed within the augered holewith fluid-sealing cement or a chemical composition; and filling thehole with grout or concrete to harden in contact with the sealingcement. This method was unsatisfactory because there was no way todetermine if the sealing cement adhered effectively or uniformly to thelimited area along the coated pile exposed within the hole. This methodwas impractical for other reasons, including the fact that in forming abarrier of contiguous piles, the sealing step had to be performed withrespect to each pile before the next pile could be formed. Accordingly,as each pile required to harden at least to a certain extent before eachsubsequent sealing and pile-forming step, the total time required tosurround an excavation cut-off area was necessarily long anduneconomical.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved method ofmaking an effective and efficient water-sealing pile barrier in an earthsitus by which the normal time for installing contiguously arrangedconcrete piles is not necessarily impeded, and by which water-sealing ofthe installed pile barrier may be otherwise economically accomplished.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of making a pilebarrier of the character described about an excavation cut-off area, bywhich an effective seal is provided against passage of water through thepile barrier, and by which the water-sealing means serves as a strongreinforcement for the pile barrier.

These and other objects of the invention will be manifest from thefollowing brief description and the accompanying drawings.

ICC

0f the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a portion of an earth situs, illustratingan initial step of providing a double row of contiguous concrete pilesabout an excavation cut-off area;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top view of a portion of FIGURE 1,but illustrating steps in the method by which earth is removed from theinterstices between series of four contiguous piles;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical fragmentary cross-section taken on the line 3-3of FIGURE 2, and on the same scale, to illustrate a step preliminary tofull removal of earth from said interstices;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view corresponding to FIG- URE 2, illustratingthe condition of the pile barrier after the spaces left in the barrierby said removal of earth have been replaced by hardenable sealing andreinforcing material;

FIGURE 5 is a sub-surface horizontal cross-section through four piles,after said replacement by hardenable sealing material, as in FIGURE 4,and after an excavation has been made in the earth within the barrier;and

FIGURES 6, 7, 8, and 9 are views corresponding to FIGURES 1, 2, 4, and5, respectively, illustrating a modification of the method to constructa fluid-sealed pile barrier utilizing a single row of piles.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 5, in general, and FIG- URE 1, in particular,one embodiment of the present invention has to do with cylindricalconcrete piles 10, 10 cast in place side-by-side in the earth E at asitus, as for use as a soil-retaining barrier or bulkhead B. The barrieris shown as comprising a double row of piles 10 contiguously arranged sothat series of four contiguous piles, in pairs aligned in two directionsdefining a vertical shaft of substantially undisturbed earth or soildefined by converging adjacent, inwardly convex surfaces of therespective four contiguous piles. Such a barrier, as an example, servesto retain earth E of the situs outwardly thereof against collapse whenthe cut-off area within the confines of the barrier is excavated. Piles10 alone, however, may not always be effective to prevent collapse ofthe barrier, due to water seepage past crevices 11, 11 between verticalcontacting portions of next adjacent piles 10.

Accordingly, initial steps of the process include forming the double rowof contiguous concrete piles 10 in the earth situs E to encompass acut-off area A, and at the same time leaving inner shafts 12, 12 ofearth defined between converging adjacent, inwardly convex surfaces ofeach four immediately adjacent piles. For this purpose, the piles may besuccessively cast in place as by the method described in prior US.Patent No. 2,729,067, filed J an. 3, 1956, which generally includes:screwing an auger-type drill (not shown) into the earth to define thelocation and depth of the pile cavity 13 while retaining the surroundingearth in said location; forcing fluid, hydraulic cement or grout intothe space below the drill with requisite pressure progressively to fillthe pile cavity with grout simultaneously with withdrawal of the drillto remove the earth from the cavity; and allowing the grout to set as ahardened pile.

Referring now to FIGURES 2 and 3 the next step in the process, afterproviding at least the respective series of four contiguous hardenedpiles 10, includes screwing a relatively small, hollow-shafted rotarydrill or an auger 14, of known type, into each respective earth shaft 12to define a cylindrical core cavity 15 of diameter greater than theshortest distance between opposing convex walls of said four piles (seeFIGURE 3, and the lower portion of FIGURE 2). That is, the size of thedrill is such that it will cut into the four convex walls, as indicatedat 10a, 10a, to provide etched or skinned portions vertically along thesame for improved bonding of concrete thereto in a subsequent step inthe method.

Now, while slowly withdrawing the auger 14 from earth shaft 12, withoutnecessarily rotating it, water under pressure is pumped down the hollowshaft of the auger, and through suitable outlet ports 14a at the lowerend thereof, to displace residual earth portions or extensions 12a, 12aof the respective earth shaft 12, to the space 12b, defined orcircumscribed by the bights between said inwardly convex walls. That is,substantially all traces of earth are removed from said convex walls.

Upon withdrawal of the auger 14, and removal of all said traces of earthfrom space 12b, as shown at the upper portion of FIGURE 2, said augerwith all earth removed therefrom is reinserted within space 12b, andchemically hardenable fluid. As the auger is again progressivelywithdrawn, hydraulic grout is then pumped through the auger passage andinto said space 12b, starting at the bottom of the same, until any orall water and/ or residual soil in space 1212 has been removed bydisplacement, and space 1212 has been filled with grout. Uponself-hardening of the grout within the space 12b, as shown in FIGURES 4and 5, the resultant grout column 17 therein will be structurally bondedor adhered to the converging walls of the piles defining said space,including bights between the same. This bonding of grout is materiallyenhanced by firm adhesion thereof to the etched or scored surfaces avertically along the piles 10. An expandible material, such :asbentonite, may be used in place of grout, if necessary or expedient.

The resultant hardened concrete columns 17, 17 when formed all along thebarrier B, provide an effective seal against passage of surface orsub-surface water and/or soil into the inner excavation cut-off area A,so that excavation of earth can be safely accomplished, as indicated at18 in FIGURE 5.

In the above steps of umping water into the spaces 12b between eachseries of piles 10, to displace and remove the soil shaft 12, most ofsuch soil is undoubtedly boiled out at the top of the piles, while somemay be absorbed into surrounding earth through cracks and crevices. Possible flushing of earth from one space 12b into another at contactingpoints 11, however, is of little consequence, especially when thespace-cleaning and filling steps of the method are completed insuccession around the bar rier B.

Another embodiment of the method invention is illustrated in FIGURES 6to 9 of the drawings. FIGURE 6 corresponds to FIGURE 1, but shows apreliminary step of utilizing the improved method to fluid-seal a singlerow of contiguous piles 20, 20 cast-in-place about a cut-off area C inan earth situs S.

Referring to the lower portion of FIGURE 7, a small drill, such as acontinuous flight auger 21, may be screwed vertically into the earthsoil structure extending into the bight between each two adjacent piles20, at the side of the pile row away from the excavation cut-off area.The drill 21 may be used to score or etch the surfaces of the piles forpurposes described in connection with FIG- URES 1 to 5.

While progressively withdrawing the auger to define a given hole 22 inthe earth of the same depth or extent as the two adjacent piles, wateris pumped down the shaft passage of auger 21 to remove residual earthfrom the bight 20a between said two adjacent piles (see upper portion ofFIGURE 7). Hydraulic grout, bentonite, or other fluid-sealing materialis then pumped into the hole 22, through the reinserted hollow drill 21,for example, to fill the hole and form a generally pear-shaped shaft 24of hardened cementitious material, which becomes firmly bonded to theadjacent wall portions of the pile, including the portions thereofwithin said bight 20a, as illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9.

Shafts 24 provided around the barrier W, as described, will seal thebarrier against passage of water, sand, and

other fluid materials, and will also serve to reinforce or strengthenthe barrier. Similar sealing and reinforcing shafts may be provided onthe cut-off side of the barrier, if desirable. In some instances, arelatively smooth facing of concrete may be applied to the cut-off sideof the barrier, including the sealing and reinforcing shafts 24, therebyto convert the barrier to serve as an inside wall of a building or otherstructure.

Other modifications of the invention may be restored to withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of constructing a pile barrier or like fluidsealingstructure in an earth situs, comprising: the steps of providing at leastone series of contiguously arranged, generally cylindrical, concretepiles longitudinally coextending in the situs to have the next adjacentsaid piles substantially touching lengthwise along correspondinglongitudinal areas of line contact, and to have convergent earthextensions of the situs defined and retained within the bights betweenthe correspondingly convergent walls of next adjacent touching piles;screwing an auger-drill into the earth of the situs to touch along saidconvergent walls to depth coextensive with the lengths of the respectivenext adjacent piles, to form longitudinal cavities in the earthextensions and leave tapered shafts of earth in said bights between theconvergent walls of the respective touching piles; flushing saidlongitudinal cavities with pressurized fluid to remove said taperedshafts of earth and bare said convergent walls substantially to saidareas of line contact; filling said flushed cavities with hardenablefluid cementitious material; and allowing said fluid cementitiousmaterial to harden in fluid-sealing contact with said bared convergentwalls to said areas of line contact.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the vertical cavities are formed byscrewing a hollow-shafted auger into said earth of the situs, eachcavity being flushed by pumping pressurized water clown the auger shaftwhile the anger is retained in the respective cavity.

3. A method as in claim 2, wherein said cementitious material is a fluidgrout progressively pumped into each said flushed cavity, starting atthe bottom thereof, to displace water from the space and fill the samewith the hardenable cementitious material.

4. A method as in claim 3, said cementitious material being fluidhydraulic cement grout.

5. A method of constructing a fluid-sealing pile barrier or likestructure in an earth situs, comprising: the steps of providingcoextending series of contiguously arranged, generally cylindrical,concrete piles longitudinally coextending in the situs to have series offour next adjacent said piles substantially touching lengthwise alongfour corresponding longitudinal areas of line contact, thereby to retaina four-sided shaft of earth defined within four peripherally adjacent,inwardly convex walls of each said touching series of four next adjacentpiles; forming a longitudinal cavity by removing a core of earth fromeach respective said four-sided shaft of earth, to depth coextensivewith the lengths of the respective said series of piles, and thereby toleave a tapered shaft of earth in the bights between said next adjacentpiles of the respective series thereof; flushing each said longitudinalcavity with fluid to remove said tapered shafts of earth thereof andbare said convergent walls substantially to said areas of line contact;filling each said cavity defined by the series of four bared convergentwalls with hardenable fluid cementitious material; and allowing saidfluid cementitious material to harden in fluid-sealing contact with saidseries of four bared convergent walls substantially to said longitudinalareas of line contact.

6. A method :as in claim 5, wherein said earth cores are removed byscrewing a hollow-shafted auger into the four-sided earth shafts todefine said longitudinal cavities in the same, and while withdrawing theauger therefrom,

pumping pressurized water down the hollow auger shaft for said removalof said tapered shafts of earth from the bights.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein said fluid cementitious material ispumped into each said longitudinal cavity through the anger, starting atthe 'bottom of the cavity, to displace water therein and fill flushedcavity with the cementitious material.

8. A method as in claim 7, said cementitious ma terial being fluid,hydraulic, cement grout.

9. A method as in claim 8, wherein upon screwing said auger into saidfour-sided earth shafts longitudinal extents of said convergent wallsare etched for improved bonding of the cementitious material thereto.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/ 1906 Smith 61-50 8/1937Smith 61-53.64 X 5/1957 Veder 61-35 X 1/ 1960 Ryser et a1 61-63 X 5/1933 Newman 61-39 FOREIGN PATENTS 1955 Great Britain.

JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner.

